1337 


at-  Av^.  W.T, 

PROGRESS  AND  PROMISE 

IN 

PORTO  RICO 


By 

Arthur  James 


Pictures  On  Front  Cover 

PORTO  Rico’s  SKYLINE 
A  RURAL  RESIDENCE 


Progress  and  Promise  In  Porto  Rico 

By  Arthur  James 


IN  the  early  seventies  of  the  last  century,  the  liberals  of  Spain 
overthrew  the  monarchy  and  established  a  republic.  The 
republic  lasted  only  two  years.  But  before  the  reactionaries  were 
again  in  the  saddle,  slavery  was  abolished  in  Porto  Rico  and 
religious  tolerance  was  established  in  the  Spanish  Domain.  The 
small  group  of  English-speaking  Episcopalians  in  the  city  of  Ponce 
grasped  the  opportunity  and  erected  for  themselves  an  imposing 
church  building.  A  few  days  after  the  dedication,  however,  the 
monarchy  was  restored  and  the  law  granting  religious  tolerance 
was  rescinded.  This  group  of  Protestants  received  notice  to  close 
their  church.  They  appealed  to  the  English  government  and 
through  the  intervention  of  Queen  Vic¬ 
toria  permission  was  granted  them  to 
use  the  building  with  the  condition  that 
the  bell  should  not  be  rung. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  bell  was 
silent.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  it 
hung  motionless  in  the  belfry,  forgotten 
by  the  general  populace.  One  bright 
October  morning  in  the  year  1898,  when 
both  gloom  and  expectancy  pervaded 
the  city,  when  the  bells  of  the  Catholic 
Churches  were  strangely  silent,  this 
Protestant  bell  pealed  out  again.  No 
move  was  made  by  the  authorities  to 
stop  it,  but  its  ringing  was  accompanied 

[3] 


by  the  rumble  of  gun  carriage  and  the  tramp  of  marching  feet. 
A  cloud  of  dust  approached  the  city  from  the  seashore,  and  out 
of  the  dust  marched  the  boys  in  blue,  the  vanguard  not  only  of 
the  American  Army  of  Occupation  but  also  of  the  civilizing  forces 
that  had  been  withhelci  from  Porto  Rico  for  four  hundred  years. 

The  Evangelical  Churches  of  the  United  States  soon  followed 
the  Army.  Long  before  the  civil  government  was  established  the 
island  was  again  occupied;  this  time  in  the  name  of  the  King  of 
Kings. 

These  early  crusaders,  finding  conditions  dark,  were  not 
daunted.  They  found  that  the  great  tropical  diseases  of  hook¬ 
worm,  malaria,  and  filariasis  held  more  than  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  population  in  their  grasp  and  that  terrible  scourges  such  as 
yellow  fever  and  smallpox  periodically  swept  the  island.  They 
found  the  people  living  under  an  economic  system  similar  to  the 
feudal  system  of  the  middle  ages,  a  people  of  which  the  great 
majority  were  in  dire  poverty  and  the  chosen  few  enjoying  all 
the  cultural  advantages  France  and  Spain  had  to  offer.  They 
found  a  people  so  grossly  neglected  educationally  that  eight  out 
of  every  ten  persons  could  not  read  and  write.  Above  all,  they 
found  a  people  so  completely  sunk  in  superstition  that  Father 
Sherman,  the  Catholic  chaplain  of  the  Army  of  Occupation, 
reported  that  religion  was  dead  on  the  island. 

Yet  these  people,  so  backward  in  1898,  advanced  so  rapidly 
under  the  new  form  of  government  that  in  1917  they  were  given 
the  full  privileges  of  American  citizenship.  As  the  first  demon¬ 
stration  of  their  capacity  for  this  new  self-government  they  voted 
liquor  from  the  island  by  a  two  to  one  majority, — a  record  in 
democratic  development.  What  has  been  the  contribution  of  the 
Presbyterian  Mission  to  this  development?  Has  the  political 
progress  been  a  result  of  and  been  accompanied  by  a  deepening 
of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  people?  Large  questions?  Surely! 
But  questions  it  is  fair  to  ask  at  the  close  of  twenty-five  years  of 
missionary  work. 


[4] 


I 

With  the  present  beautiful  Presbyterian  Hospital  one  finds 
it  difficult  to  think  back  to  the  beginnings  of  medical  missions  in 
Porto  Rico.  Yet  these  beginnings  were  simple,  natural,  and 
spontaneous  affairs.  Dr.  Grace  Atkins  felt  the  call  to  go  to  Porto 
Rico.  When  she  landed  on  the  island  she  was  appalled  by  the 
death  and  disease.  She  opened  a  clinic  in  connection  with  the 
newly-established  Presbyterian  Church.  She  soon  felt  that  her 
clinic  work  was  doing  very  little  to  solve  the  problem,  so  she 
returned  to  the  States  and  appealed  for  funds  to  establish  a 
hospital.  The  Woman’s  Board  of  Home  Missions  heard  her 
appeal  and  the  first  San  Juan  Presbyterian  Hospital  was  the  result. 
This  hospital  though  a  large  plant  in  its  time  soon  became  too  small 
for  the  demands  made  upon  it  and  in  1917  a  new  building  was 
erected — easily  the  best  of  its  kind  in  the  West  Indies.  Again  the 
plant  has  proved  too  small  and  at  present  plans  are  being  made 
that  will  double  the  capacity  of  the  building. 

The  test  of  popularity  in  Porto  Rico  for  a  person  or  institu¬ 
tion  is  to  earn  a  nickname.  Our  San  Juan  Presbyterian  Hospital 
passed  this  stage  long  ago.  To  the  Porto  Ricans  the  fact  that 
in  the  remotest  country  barrio  and  in  the  crowded  city  it  is  known 


Presbyterian  Hospital,  San  Juan 


as  “El  Presbiteriano" — “The  Presbyterian" — is  the  sine  qua  non 
of  success.  More  eloquent  testimony  to  the  northerner,  however, 
are  the  facts  that  42,000  patients  were  treated  by  the  hospital 
staff  in  1923,  and  that  during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  700,000 
people — more  than  half  the  present  population  of  Porto  Rico — 
have  been  treated  by  this  Christian  Institution. 

The  Presbyterian  Hospital,  together  with  the  other  healing 
agencies  of  the  Protestant  Mission,  has  completely  changed  the 
attitude  of  the  people  towards  hospitals.  It  is  now  no  longer 
necessary  to  send  policemen  to  compel  patients  to  attend  the  public 
clinics  for  hookworm  and  malaria  as  it  was  in  the  early  days  of 

[6] 


American  occupation.  I  he  Mission  Hospitals  have  likewise  com¬ 
pletely  altered  the  nurse's  status,  so  that  today  the  nurse  is 
respected  and  occupies  a  position  of  dignity  and  professional 
standing. 

II 

What  can  a  score  or  so  of  Mission  workers  do  for  the  economic 
advancement  of  a  million  and  a  half  people?  Measured  by  the 
new  industries  that  the  country  so  badly  needs,  very  little,  but  from 
the  standpoint  of  Christian  neighborly  service  very  much. 

In  the  neighborhood  houses  of  Mayaguez  and  Aguadilla, 
babies  of  working  mothers  daily  receive  their  chief  nourishment 
in  the  day  nurseries,  thousands  of  poor  people  annually  receive 
medical  treatment  in  the  clinics,  scores  of  girls  have  become  self- 
respecting  members  of  the  communities  through  the  drawnwork 


Y.  M.  C.  A., 
San  Juan 


and  lace  classes  and  innumerable  youngsters  have  benefited  by  the 
kindergarten  and  primary  schools. 

Yet  statistics,  thrilling  as  they  may  be,  cannot  tell  half  the 
story.  They  say  nothing  of  the  influence  of  the  neighborly  contact 
of  the  Christian  women  who  for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century 
have  labored  in  these  communities,  of  the  young  people  whose 
lives  have  been  changed  as  a  result  of  this  service,  the  many  girls 
whose  steps  have  been  guided,  often  without  their  knowing  it,  into 
honorable  vocations,  and  of  the  many  who  through  the  inspiration 
received  at  the  neighborhood  houses  have  caught  the  vision  of  a 
full  education  and  have  pursued  their  courses  until  they  have 
obtained  the  prize.  There  is  no  record,  for  instance,  of  the  young 
country  girl  entering  the  Mayaguez  neighborhood  house  twelve 
years  ago  and  of  the  Head  worker  discerning  the  latent  character 
behind  her  timidity  anci  inviting  her  to  stay  as  a  companion. 
Neither  do  the  records  show  how  the  same  girl  by  the  help  and 
encouragement  received  from  the  workers  of  the  Neighborhood 
House  was  able  to  go  to  the  States  and  after  eight  years'  study 
graduate  from  High  School  and  College,  to  return  to  her  own 
country,  and  to  teach  mathematics  in  one  of  the  largest  High 
Schools  in  the  island,  where  she  is  a  positive  source  of  Christian 
influence  in  the  school  and  in  the  community. 

[8] 


Polytechnic  Candidates 
for  the  Ministry 


The  work  of  the  neighborhood  houses  is  more  difficult  to  esti¬ 
mate  than  any  other  kind  of  Christian  activity.  Oftentimes  the 
most  lasting  service  is  purely  incidental — outside  the  regular  chan¬ 
nel  of  work.  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  no  missionary  work  in 
Porto  Rico  has  been  more  efficiently  and  cheerfully  done  than  that 
done  by  these  Neighborhood  Houses,  and  on  the  Great  Day  it  may 
be  confidently  stated  that  none  will  hear  a  greater  “well  done  good 
and  faithful  Servant"  than  these  consecrated  workers. 

Ill 

A  few  years  ago  a  girl  from  Santo  Domingo  was  admitted  to 
a  Porto  Rican  Mission  school.  On  her  physical  examination  she 
was  found  to  be  suffering  from  the  seven-year  itch,  a  disease  preva¬ 
lent  in  these  tropical  countries.  She  was  of  course  given  treatment, 
but  it  was  some  time  before  she  was  better.  In  the  meantime  the 
malady  was  not  only  a  source  of  physical  discomfort,  but  it  seemed 
to  make  her  most  irritable  of  temper.  She  constituted  a  tremen¬ 
dous  discipline  problem.  The  matron  was  distracted  and  finally 
tried  to  supply  some  additional  incentive  for  good  behavior. 
“Maria,"  she  said,  “if  you  are  not  reported  for  a  week,  I  will 
give  you  a  present.  What  do  you  want?"  Without  a  moment  of 

[9] 


hesitation  Maria  replied:  “A  nutmeg  grater!"  Not  many  of  the 
students  of  mission  schools  are  Marias,  but  it  is  taking  the  raw 
material  from  the  towns  and  country  recesses  of  Porto  Rico  and 
the  nearby  countries  and  developing  them  into  educated  Christian 
citizens  that  constitute  the  “apologia"  of  these  mission  schools. 

The  greatest  progress  of  the  Porto  Rican  people  since  the 
American  occupation  is  in  their  educational  life.  In  spite  of  this 
fact  the  present  Commissioner  of  Education  recently  declared  in 
a  public  address  that  he  would  like  to  see  Presbyterian  schools  in 
every  town  of  the  island.  The  illiteracy  rate  of  a  country  cannot 
be  changed  much  in  a  generation.  All  the  schools  built  since  1898 
and  all  the  teachers  employed  have  only  brought  the  rate  down 
from  79.9  per  cent  to  54  per  cent,  that  is,  even  today  one  person 
out  of  every  two  persons  you  meet  in  Porto  Rico  cannot  read  and 
write.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  in  view  of  these  facts  that  the  Com¬ 
missioner  welcomes  the  help  he  receives  from  the  Mission  Schools. 

The  Presbyterian  Mission  has  been  careful,  however,  not  to 
duplicate  the  work  done  by  the  Insular  Department, — here  a 
kindergarten  for  a  group  of  needy  youngsters,  there  a  primary 
class  for  another  group  of  children  crowded  out  of  the  public 
schools.  It  was  this  principle  of  cooperation  with  the  public 
authorities  that  was  responsible  for  the  development  of  the  Poly¬ 
technic  Institute  of  Porto  Rico,  an  institution  generously  supported 
by  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  The  story  of  the  Institute  has  been 
told  so  many  times  before  that  it  only  remains  to  say  that  today 
with  its  340  students,  working,  playing,  praying,  and  studying 
together,  it  forms  one  of  the  most  significant  groups  in  the  educa¬ 
tional  life  of  Latin  America. 

IV 

To  what  extent  has  the  missionary  work  enabled  the  Porto 
Rican  people  to  experience  the  Christian  spirit  behind  the  money 
and  effort  of  the  past  twenty-five  years?  Has  the  evangelistic 
effort  kept  pace  with  the  medical,  community,  and  educational 
activities  ? 

[10] 


It  is  the  pride  of  the  mission  workers  in  Porto  Rico  that  in 
talking  of  the  evangelistic  work  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the 
different  churches  laboring  in  the  island.  There  is  no  overlapping 
of  territory  and  in  their  educational  programs,  evangelistic  cam¬ 
paigns,  distribution  of  literature,  and  social  reform  activities,  there 
is  full  cooperation.  They  also  support  the  same  periodical,  and 
Theological  Seminary. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  there  was  but  one  Protestant  church  in 
the  island;  today  there  are  over  two  hundred  evangelical  churches 
with  four  hundred  eighty-eight  preaching  stations.  These  churches 
have  an  active  membership  of  12,377  and  a  Sunday  School  mem¬ 
bership  of  24,717.  To  the  support  of  this  work  the  Porto  Rican 
Christians  gave  during  1923,  $55,221, — in  many  ways  a  record 
for  a  missionary  work. 

Let  the  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission,  however,  illustrate 
the  evangelistic  activities  of  the  Porto  Rican  Christians.  During 
the  last  four  years,  1,903  members  have  been  received  by  the 
Presbytery.  In  1917-18,  $4,977  was  contributed  by  the  local  Pres¬ 
byterian  churches  to  the  support  of  their  work.  Last  year  these 
same  churches  gave  $13,005.  During  the  past  five  years,  nine 
country  chapels  have  been  erected  by  the  Porto  Rican  Presby¬ 
terians,  all  of  the  money  being  collected  in  Porto  Rico. 

During  the  busy  war  years,  thousands  of  Porto  Ricans  left 
their  over-crowded  country  and  went  to  the  neighboring  country 
of  Santo  Domingo  to  work  in  the  sugar  cane  fields.  Except  for 
some  isolated  communities  Santo  Domingo  was  virgin  missionary 
territory.  Many  members  of  the  evangelical  churches  of  Porto 
Rico  were  among  the  immigrants  there.  These  folk  banded 
together  wherever  they  went  and  organized  themselves  into  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  societies.  The  largest  of  these  groups  sent  an 
urgent  call  to  their  Porto  Rican  brethren  for  help.  The  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  United  Brethren,  Congregational,  and  Presbyterian 
Churches  taxed  themselves  three  cents  a  member  a  month,  and 

[  11  ] 


with  the  money  paid  the  full  salary  of  a  minister  at  this  center. 
The  Committee  of  Cooperation  in  Latin  America  soon  saw  the 
opportunity  in  Santo  Domingo  and  planned  a  much  bigger  piece 
of  work.  Of  course  the  Porto  Ricans  gave  their  full  cooperation. 
With  funds  on  hand  they  bought  the  equipment  in  the  Mission 
Hospital  in  Santo  Domingo  City,  and  with  the  money  they  con¬ 
tinue  to  raise  they  pay  a  large  share  on  its  operating  expenses. 
The  missionary  interest  the  Porto  Rican  Christians  have  shown 
for  this  neighboring  country  is  the  greatest  testimony  of  the  depth 
of  their  evangelistic  zeal. 

What  of  Promise?  What  does  the  future  hold  for  the  Pres¬ 
byterian  work  in  Porto  Rico?  Will  the  need  continue?  Several 
prominent  Porto  Ricans  of  all  political  and  religious  affiliations 
were  asked  these  questions  before  this  pamphlet  was  written. 
Their  answers  were  along  three  lines:  I.  Continue,  because  the 
work  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  is  but  the  foundation  of  a  much 
greater  work  in  the  years  to  come.  II.  Continue,  as  the  need  is  so 
tremendous,  “because  it  would  be  a  crime  to  abandon  our  people 
when  they  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  vision  the  next  few  years 
hold  for  us.”  III.  Continue,  because  you  can  depend  on  the 
enthusiastic  cooperation  of  the  Porto  Rican  people.  To  these 
reasons  let  us  add  the  greatest.  The  fact  that  the  bugle  of  our 
Captain  never  calls  retreat,  and  that  while  we  still  have  the  great 
Commission  to  inspire  us  the  work  begun  should  be  continued  until 
Porto  Rico — the  “Pearl  of  the  Caribbean” — becomes  one  of  the 
most  precious  jewels  in  His  diadem. 


1 1-24-II-5M — AKA 


BOARD  OF  NATIONAL  MISSIONS 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.S.A. 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  N.  Y. 


